“Peace, Elina. Jake has left you in the dark. We are Lua Warriors. You could call us spiritual warriors. We balance our power with harmony, and we have been fighting demons for centuries. Shall we show the Keeper who we are?”
One by one the men stand pulling their shirts off. Each of the muscular warriors has unique tattoos covering their bodies. They line up facing the ocean, father and sons. The chant begins and grows in power. They speak in a language unknown to Elina, but the effect is the same. Strength, power and spirituality. Leilani steps to Elina.
“They are calling out the demons and praising our Creator. Now they ask the ancestors to walk with them because once a Lua Warrior, you never walk alone. They are bodyguards or protectors of the Light, Elina. You have come to the right place.”
Makaio reaches a hand to the moon and a sudden red flame ignites above his hand as Leilani explains.
“On the darkest of nights, each warrior must choose to face the darkest parts of his soul. It is a solitary journey full of the demons of fear, anger, and lies. They will face temptation and long to turn back, but before them the path continues.”
Makaio passes the flame to his son and the flame changes, flickering faster and hotter.
“No two journeys are the same, Elina and the warrior must walk it alone.”
He passes it to the next warrior and again the flame changes, growing larger and hotter. It takes two hands to hold it this time.
“He will long to turn back, pain is a constant companion now but he pushes on...” Passing the flame to the final son, it is enormous now and Seth struggles to contain it.
“The choice comes to all who choose this path, will he walk in the Light or fall to Shadow?”
The brothers link grasping shoulder to shoulder and the flame changes turning lighter and lighter until finally it is bright blue. Each warrior holds out a hand and now they all hold blue flames. They toss the fire into the air, combining once again and it glows white hot.
Elina stands and walks past the warriors on the sand. Stopping directly under the light she smiles at the look of shock on their faces as the white flame changes to blue. A flash and it descends downward completely engulfing her body.
The Ketuwah welcomes her home passing into her body, soothing her fractured soul until it burns out completely, leaving a haze in the air around Elina.
Sudden darkness fills the beach except for the flame of the bonfire.
Silence greets her and she turns away from the ocean to face the warriors, “I have walked this path brothers, it is an honor to meet you.”
They drop to their knees in reverence.
Elina smiles and looks to Jake, “You are so going to pay for not telling me.”
He laughs out loud walking over and pulls her into a hug.
Elina pushes Jake off in mock annoyance and walks to Makaio pulling him to his feet. The brothers stand and follow them back to the bonfire.
Heather waits until they return to their chairs and pull on their shirts to begin. She notices her father, Scott walking with a thermos of coffee and some paper cups. She waits for him to hand out the cups and then unrolls a black towel holding the Stones of War.
“I’m sure you remember these, Elina.” Heather inquires. “After you trusted me with them, I have spent a great deal of time translating them.”
“Tell me.” Elina says, looking at her.
“They speak of a war to end human existence as we know it. If we lose, then death will be a dream we would wish for. The Mocker will rule this planet and all Light will be extinguished. The scrolls speak of a war.”
Elina shakes her head, “Yes, I remember. The war between the Sons of the Light and the Sons of Darkness.”
“Yes, there will be five battles. Two will be won by the Sons of the Light, and two will be lost to the Sons of Darkness. The final battle must be won by the Sons of Light, or all is lost.”
Scott moves closer to listen and sits on a log with the others.
Elina touches the stone and they seem to vibrate beneath her hand. “Five battles…” she murmurs thinking that the number is equal to the parts of the book that must be found.
“The first battle was won with your family, Heather at the Crystal Caves.”
Elina touches Heather’s hand and shares with her the moment she returned the part to the Ketuwah.
“The death of your Mother and Grandfather will not be forgotten, Heather.” She turns to look at Scott, “They will be remembered as heroes.”
Scott looks at her and asks, “So would that be a loss or a win for you?” A flash of his wife, Sophia being pulled by her bloody arm across an open field by a demon. Her lifeless body being chewed on as the monsters fought over their prize.
Elina is shocked at the question. Jakes moves beside Elina to sit on the arm of her chair. “There is no victory in a life cut short, Scott.” She answers.
He drops his head and takes a deep breath to compose himself, forcing the images away.
Heather smiles, “Thank you, Elina. I think they would like to be remembered that way.”
Everyone falls silent for a few moments and Elina thinks about the other battles she has fought. Five battles, the first in the crystal caves, the second she fought with Raphaim in the grotto and won. The third piece of the book was lost to Raphaim.
“The fourth has yet to be found.” She murmurs reminding her of why she came here in the first place.
Heather breaks the thoughtful silence, “Elina, after their deaths, I was determined to be ready for the next battle that would come. That’s when I realized that to fight a spiritual battle we will need warriors capable of
